Marie of Hohenstaufen
Encyclopedia
Marie of Hohenstaufen was a member of the powerful Hohenstaufen
dynasty of German kings which lasted from 1138 to 1254. She is also known to history as Maria of Swabia.
She was the third daughter of Philip of Swabia
and Irene Angelina
of Byzantium
, and her husband was Henry II, Duke of Brabant
and Lothier
. As she had died six months before her husband succeeded to the dukedom, Marie was never Duchess of Brabant and Lothier.
Marie of Hohenstaufen was born in Arezzo
, Tuscany
, Italy
on 3 April 1201. Her paternal grandparents were Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy
, and her mother's parents were Byzantine Emperor
Isaac II Angelos
and his first wife Herina.
Emperor Frederick II
was her first cousin.
In 1208, at the age of seven, Marie was left an orphan by the unexpected deaths of her parents. On 21 June, her father was murdered by Otto of Wittelsbach, and two months later her mother died after giving birth to a daughter, who did not live beyond early infancy. Marie had three surviving sisters.
, heir to the Duchy of Brabant
(present-day Belgium
) and Lothier. They had six children, and through them, Marie is the ancestress of every royal house in Europe
:
, Brabant, five days before her thirty-fourth birthday. Less than six months later, her husband succeeded his father as Duke of Brabant and Lothier.
In 1241, Henry married his second wife, Sophie of Thuringia
, the daughter of Ludwig IV of Thuringia
and Elisabeth of Hungary
. The marriage produced two children: Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse
and Elizabeth of Brabant, who married Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
. Sophie was the only wife of Henry to be styled Duchess of Brabant and Lothier.
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
dynasty of German kings which lasted from 1138 to 1254. She is also known to history as Maria of Swabia.
She was the third daughter of Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV.-Biography:Philip was the fifth and youngest son of Emperor Frederick I and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, daughter of Renaud III, count of Burgundy, and brother of the emperor Henry VI...
and Irene Angelina
Irene Angelina
Irene Angelina was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos by his first wife, perhaps named Herina, possibly a member of the Tornikes family.- Marriage and issue :...
of Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, and her husband was Henry II, Duke of Brabant
Henry II, Duke of Brabant
Henry II of Brabant was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235...
and Lothier
Duke of Lothier
Lothier refers to the territory within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, governed by the Dukes of Brabant and their successors after 1190 until the end of the Ancien Régime in 1796....
. As she had died six months before her husband succeeded to the dukedom, Marie was never Duchess of Brabant and Lothier.
Family
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
, Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
on 3 April 1201. Her paternal grandparents were Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy
Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy
Beatrice of Burgundy was the only daughter of Renaud III, Count of Burgundy and Agatha of Lorraine. She was the second wife and Empress of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. Her maternal grandparents were Simon I, Duke of Lorraine and his wife Adelaide of Leuven. Beatrice was active at the...
, and her mother's parents were Byzantine Emperor
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos was Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204....
and his first wife Herina.
Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
was her first cousin.
In 1208, at the age of seven, Marie was left an orphan by the unexpected deaths of her parents. On 21 June, her father was murdered by Otto of Wittelsbach, and two months later her mother died after giving birth to a daughter, who did not live beyond early infancy. Marie had three surviving sisters.
Siblings
- Beatrice of Hohenstaufen (1198–1212), married Otto IV, Holy Roman EmperorOtto IV, Holy Roman EmperorOtto IV of Brunswick was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and emperor from 1209 on. The only king of the Welf dynasty, he incurred the wrath of Pope Innocent III and was excommunicated in 1215.-Early life:Otto was the third son of Henry the...
. The marriage was childless. - Cunigunde of Hohenstaufen (1200–1248), married in 1228 King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, by whom she had issue.
- Elizabeth of Hohenstaufen (1203 – 5 November 1235), married in 1219 King Ferdinand III of CastileFerdinand III of CastileSaint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., was the King of Castile from 1217 and León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII and consolidated the...
, by whom she had issue, including King Alfonso X of CastileAlfonso X of CastileAlfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
. She was his first wife. Ferdinand married his second wife Jeanne de Dammartin, Countess of Ponthieu before August 1237, by whom he had issue, including Eleanor of Castile, Queen consort of King Edward I of EnglandEdward I of EnglandEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
.
Marriage and issue
Sometime before 22 August 1215, she married as his first wife HenryHenry II, Duke of Brabant
Henry II of Brabant was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235...
, heir to the Duchy of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
(present-day Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) and Lothier. They had six children, and through them, Marie is the ancestress of every royal house in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
:
- Matilda of BrabantMatilda of BrabantMatilda of Brabant was the eldest daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and his first wife Marie of Hohenstaufen.-Marriages and children:...
(14 June 1224 – 29 September 1288), married firstly, Robert I of ArtoisRobert I of ArtoisRobert I , called the Good, was the first Count of Artois, the fifth son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile.-Life:...
, by whom she had two children, Robert II of ArtoisRobert II of ArtoisRobert II was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant.An experienced soldier, he took part in the Aragonese Crusade and attempted an invasion of Sicily in 1287. He defeated the Flemings in 1297 at the Battle of Furnes...
and Blanche of ArtoisBlanche of ArtoisBlanche of Artois was the queen consort of Navarre; after her husband Henry I of Navarre's death, she served as regent from 1274 to 1284 on behalf of her daughter, Joan I...
; she married secondly Guy III, Count of Saint-PolGuy III, Count of Saint-PolGuy II of Châtillon, Count of Saint-Pol , French nobleman, was a younger son of Hugh I of Châtillon and Marie of Avesnes.While his elder brother John I of Châtillon succeeded to their mother's County of Blois, Guy was given their father's county of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise at his death in 1248.On...
, by whom she had six children. - Beatrix of Brabant (1225 – 11 November 1288), married firstly Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia, and secondly William III of DampierreWilliam III of DampierreWilliam III was the lord of Dampierre from 1231 and count of Flanders from 1247 until his death. He was the son of William II of Dampierre and Margaret II of Flanders....
. She died childless. - Marie of Brabant (c. 1226 – 18 January 1256), married Louis II, Duke of BavariaLouis II, Duke of BavariaDuke Louis II of Bavaria was Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. Born in Heidelberg, he was a son of duke Otto II and Agnes of the Palatinate...
. She was beheaded by her husband on suspicion of infidelity. - Margaret of Brabant (died 14 March 1277), Abbess of Herzogenthal.
- Henry III, Duke of BrabantHenry III, Duke of BrabantHenry III of Brabant was Duke of Brabant between 1248 and his death. He was the son of Henry II of Brabant and Marie of Hohenstaufen....
(c. 1230 – 28 February 1261), married Adelaide of Burgundy (c. 1233 – 23 October 1273), daughter of Hugh IV, Duke of BurgundyHugh IV, Duke of BurgundyHugh IV of Burgundy was duke of Burgundy between 1218 and 1271. Hugh was the only son of duke Odo III and Alice of Vergy...
, by whom he had issue, including Henry IV, Duke of BrabantHenry IV, Duke of BrabantHenry IV of Brabant was Duke of Brabant from 1261 to 1267.Born at Leuven, he was the eldest son of Henry III, Duke of Brabant and Adelaide of Burgundy, daughter of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy...
, John I, Duke of BrabantJohn I, Duke of BrabantJohn I of Brabant, also called John the Victorious was Duke of Brabant , Lothier and Limburg .-Life:...
, and Maria of Brabant, Queen consort of King Philip III of FrancePhilip III of FrancePhilip III , called the Bold , was the King of France, succeeding his father, Louis IX, and reigning from 1270 to 1285. He was a member of the House of Capet.-Biography:...
. - Philip of Brabant, died young.
Death
Marie of Hohenstaufen died on 29 March 1235 in LeuvenLeuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, Brabant, five days before her thirty-fourth birthday. Less than six months later, her husband succeeded his father as Duke of Brabant and Lothier.
In 1241, Henry married his second wife, Sophie of Thuringia
Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of Brabant
Sophie of Thuringia was the second wife and only Duchess consort of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Lothier. She was the heiress of Hesse which she passed on to her son, Henry upon her retention of the territory following her partial victory in the War of the Thuringian Succession in which she was...
, the daughter of Ludwig IV of Thuringia
Ludwig IV of Thuringia
Ludwig IV or Louis IV was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1217 to 1227.Louis was born in Creuzburg to Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia, and Duchess Sophia, daughter of Otto of Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria. Upon his father's death in 1216, Louis ascended the Thuringian throne at the age of...
and Elisabeth of Hungary
Elisabeth of Hungary
Elizabeth of Hungary, T.O.S.F., was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary, Countess of Thuringia, Germany and a greatly-venerated Catholic saint. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. She then became one of the first members of the newly-founded Third Order of St. Francis,...
. The marriage produced two children: Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse
Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse
Henry I of Hesse "the Child" was the first Landgrave of Hesse. He was the son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Sophie of Thuringia.-Life:...
and Elizabeth of Brabant, who married Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Albert the Tall , of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1252 to 1269 and the first ruler of the newly created Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1269 until his death.-Life:...
. Sophie was the only wife of Henry to be styled Duchess of Brabant and Lothier.
Ancestry
Sources
- Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, "Swabia"
- Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Byzantium (1057–1204)